Intelligent processing and playback of recorded surveillance video is often an important function for inclusion in a physical surveillance system. For example, a physical surveillance system may include many cameras, each of which records surveillance video. The total amount of surveillance video recorded by those cameras, much of which is typically recorded concurrently, makes relying upon manual location and tracking of a person-of-interest who appears in the recorded surveillance video inefficient. Intelligent processing and playback of surveillance video, and in particular automated search functionality, may accordingly be used to increase the efficiency with which a person-of-interest can be identified using a physical surveillance system.
Masking can be used to obscure certain video image details (for example, portions of video image frames in a video image stream). One or more objects can form a part of the portions of a video to be obscured. For example, security footage may include private information (such as, for example, license plates and faces) that need to be obscured to allow publishing or dissemination in a manner that would otherwise violate privacy. When footage is used in a public manner, one has to consider whether there is some legal or other requirement to obscure people's faces, address markers, or other objects, for privacy concerns.